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Series VPRS 10867
Alphabetical Index to Central Register of Male Prisoners
About this Series Related Series Accessing the records in this Series
Date Range: Series 1868 - 1947
  Series in Custody 1868 - 1947
  Contents 1868 - 1947
Public Access: Open
Location: North Melbourne
Format of Records: Physical
 
Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
1868 - 1947 Penal and Gaols Branch, Chief Secretary's Department VA 1464
Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series
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Date Range Agency Title Agency Number
Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series
  • How to use the Records
    Consult the Consignment Details List and locate the volume covering the prisoner number or time period of interest.

    This series has been digitised and is available online. Access to the digitised records is available via the physical records details pages.

  • Function / Content
    This series consists of volumes containing indexes to the central register of male prisoners, and provides entry to VPRS 515 Central Register of Male Prisoners. Details recorded include the prisoner number, the prisoner name, and the register number and folio number for VPRS 515.

    Prisoner numbers were allocated to prisoners upon reception at the prison. From c. 1860 Pentridge became the central prison for the Melbourne area and unless the prisoner passed through Pentridge it is unlikely that there will be any reference to them in VPRS 515 Central Register of Male Prisoners or this series.

    The series was most likely to have been located at Pentridge Prison but was part of the Chief Secretary's Department (and from 1871 the Penal and Gaols Branch) recordkeeping system and should not be considered a Pentridge record. It was created by the Department for ease of accessing the information on prisoners from the Central Registers as part of its responsibility for the management of prisons.

    Research Note:

    In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was common practice for a prisoner to be soent from the court to the local prison (eg, Ballarat, Beechworth and Geelong). It is therefore very important for researchers to know where the trial took place. It the trial took place in Melbourne the prisoner is likely to have been registered in VPRS 515, but if the trial took place outside of the metropolitan area the prisoner was most probably sent to the local prison. Researchers should check the records of local prisons in such instances.

    In the prison system there was no state-wide registration of prisoners (both male and female) until the introduction of the computerised Prison Information Management system (PIMS) in 1985.

  • Recordkeeping System
    Volumes were arranged in chronological order. Each index was arranged in rough alphabetical order by prisoner surname, and provided the register number and folio number for VPRS 515 Central Register of Male Prisoners.

    Although the series appears to have been created in 1868, some entries are dated earlier and may have been entered retrospectively. More research is required to assess the situation.

    For prisoners received prior to 1868, refer to the Victorian Male Prisoner Index available in the Reading Rooms.

    For female prisoners, refer to VPRS 516 Central Register of Female Prisoners.
More research resourcesMore research resources
    PROVguide058 Prison Records
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
Controlled SeriesControlled Series
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
1868 - 1947 Central Register of Male Prisoners VPRS 515
Previous SeriesPrevious Series
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Transfer Date Series Title Series Number
Subsequent SeriesSubsequent Series
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Transfer Date Series Title Series Number
List/s of records in this seriesList/s of records in this series
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Consignment Number Contents Date Range Public Access No. of Units
P0000 1868 - 1947 Open 4
Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers
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Date Range Series Title Series Number
More research resourcesMore research resources
    PROVguide058 Prison Records

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